Hotel Empress Zoe

Top choice in Sultanahmet


Named after the feisty Byzantine empress, this is one of İstanbul's most impressive boutique hotels. The four buildings house 26 diverse rooms joined by lots of stairs. The enticing garden suites overlook a gorgeous flower-filled courtyard where breakfast is served in warm weather. You can enjoy an early evening drink there, or while admiring the sea view from the terrace.

Note that rates on the hotel website are usually cheaper than those on other booking sites.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sultanahmet attractions

1. Sultanahmet Archaeological Park

0.09 MILES

Excavations here have uncovered parts of the Great Palace of Byzantium. The park has been closed for restoration for almost a decade, with no signs of it…

2. Aya Sofya Tombs

0.11 MILES

Part of the Aya Sofya complex but entered via Babıhümayun Caddesi, these tombs are the final resting places of five 16th- and 17th-century sultans –…

3. Fountain of Sultan Ahmet III

0.13 MILES

This ornate rococo-style fountain outside the Imperial Gate to Topkapı Palace's First Court was built in 1728 by the sultan who so favoured tulips.

4. Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

0.15 MILES

Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.

5. Carpet Museum

0.15 MILES

Housed in an imaret (soup kitchen) added to the Aya Sofya complex in the 18th century, this museum is entered through a spectacular baroque gate and gives…

6. Imperial Gate

0.15 MILES

Topkapı Palace's Imperial Gate leads to the palace's First Court, known as the Court of the Janissaries or the Parade Court. You can go through the gate…

7. Arasta Bazaar

0.2 MILES

This historic arcade of shops was once part of the külliye (mosque complex) of the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii). Mosques built by the great and…

8. Basilica Cistern

0.2 MILES

This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…